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James Jaramillo - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Specialist at ADDI
Real User
Sep 24, 2022
It's a free and flexible solution that integrates well with other products
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature depends on the project. It's great if you need to check to ensure a service is running 24/7. I can use the full solution for free, and it's flexible. If I need to add a dashboard, I can integrate it with Nagios. Cloud synchronization is wonderful."
  • "The mapping is a little hard."

What is our primary use case?

We use Nagios to monitor networking infrastructure and services.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature depends on the project. It's great if you need to check to ensure a service is running 24/7. I can use the full solution for free, and it's flexible. If I need to add a dashboard, I can integrate it with Nagios. Cloud synchronization is wonderful.

What needs improvement?

The mapping is a little hard.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Nagios Core for three to five years.

Buyer's Guide
Nagios Core
June 2026
Learn what your peers think about Nagios Core. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2026.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Nagios is 100 percent stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Nagios is appropriate for companies of all sizes, but a larger enterprise might require a bigger IT team. The largest team I've seen was 50 people. You can easily scale Nagios up, but I've never done it. 

How are customer service and support?

Nagios support is good. They also have a complete knowledge base, so if you need to figure something out, you can find everything about the solution in one place.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I used Pandora about seven years ago, so I can only speak about the capabilities of the solution as it existed at the time. Pandora was excellent, but the documentation was too complicated.

How was the initial setup?

It depends on infrastructure, but normally Nagios is easy to deploy, and I could do it by myself. It usually takes two or three days, but I needed a week for one deployment. You need to install and configure everything and deploy the agents on various servers.

After deployment, you need to do periodic updates and patching. You download the latest pack from the Nagios server with the client. You can do an ATT update depending on if you have Red Hat or Windows between the platforms.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Rizwan Shabbir - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Administrator at Mentor Graphics
Real User
Jun 23, 2022
Useful network connectivity checks, reliable, but graphical interface lacking
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of Nagios Core is the ability to check the availability of the server for network connectivity. Additionally, the interface is good."
  • "We are using Nagios Core on a VM and it's working very well, even though the specs of the VM are very low because it doesn't require much storage."
  • "Nagios Core can improve the graphical interface, it would make things a little easier."

What is our primary use case?

We are using Nagios Core mainly for servers. We check the network hardware connectivity. We check for the availability of the network and for hardware failures.

We have deployed Nagios Core on a VM and it's working very well. The specs of the VM are very low because it doesn't require so much storage

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of Nagios Core is the ability to check the availability of the server for network connectivity. Additionally, the interface is good.

What needs improvement?

Nagios Core can improve the graphical interface, it would make things a little easier.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Nagios Core for approximately five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of Nagios Core has been good in our usage.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Nagios Core is scalable for our needs. We don't have many servers and network activity, we have approximately 200 nodes, and it's fulfilling our requirements.

We do not have plans to increase our usage of the solution this time but maybe in the future.

How are customer service and support?

We do not have support for this solution, it is free.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have not used another solution previously.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Nagios Core is not complicated, once you are used to it, it can be easy. The full implementation took us approximately three hours.

I rate the initial setup of Nagios Core a three out of five.

What about the implementation team?

We maintain Nagios Core in-house.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We are using the free version of Nagios Core.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have evaluated other solutions.

What other advice do I have?

This solution can meet basic requirements. If someone is using it on a larger scale they might have difficulty managing it.

I rate Nagios Core a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Nagios Core
June 2026
Learn what your peers think about Nagios Core. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2026.
902,417 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Azam S M - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Lead at Danat Fz LLC
Real User
Top 5
Nov 5, 2024
Notifications are received promptly; very easy to set up and manage
Pros and Cons
  • "Provides timely notifications."
  • "The UI is a little outdated and graphics could be displayed in a better way."

What is our primary use case?

Our main goal with Nagios is to keep a close eye on our servers and the services running in our AWS environment. We’ve got a mix of Windows and Linux systems, each running specific services, and Nagios alerts us whenever something isn’t quite right. It’s also great for monitoring the sites we host on IIS. We've relied on Nagios since 2013, and it’s been a real game-changer when you have so many moving parts to track.

How has it helped my organization?

I can say Real-time Monitoring and Alerts, Comprehensive Coverage, Cost-effective Solution, Historical Data and Analysis, and Reliability and Stability

What is most valuable?

The value of the solution is that we get timely notifications if there are any issues and they can be solved immediately. Nagios provides all the plugins required. 

What needs improvement?

The UI is a little outdated so it's not as user-friendly as it should be and the graphics should be displayed in a better way. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for 10 years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable and reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of this solution is impressive, particularly because it allows us to expand our monitoring capabilities as our infrastructure grows. With Nagios Core, we can easily add new hosts, services, and devices as needed, ensuring that we maintain visibility across an increasing number of systems. While configuring additional checks can require some setup time, the flexibility it offers makes it well-suited for scaling. Additionally, the open-source community provides plugins and resources that help address scaling challenges, making it adaptable for both small and large environments.

How are customer service and support?

Because the solution is open source, there's no direct support from Nagios. We post our questions to the community and that provides sufficient support. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy and straightforward. Deployment probably took us an hour or two and was not implemented all at once. New areas come up all the time that require monitoring so we research which plugin will be useful and implement that. It's enhanced gradually whenever we have a specific requirement. The implementation was done in-house. There is some maintenance involved, including for the upgrades. I manage the solution but there's a development team to monitor the services, around eight to 10 people. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The product is open-source, so it’s completely free to use. We have it deployed on an Amazon server, which costs us a small amount approximately $30 per month for AWS hosting

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We tested ManageEngine and another open-source product like Zenoss but we found Nagios easier to set up and manage. 

What other advice do I have?

I recommend this solution because it’s very user-friendly. There are excellent resources available online, and it provides everything we need to meet our requirements.

I rate this solution nine out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer2321127 - PeerSpot reviewer
Admin Sys Linux at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Dec 14, 2023
Offers robust monitoring capabilities but has limited scalability
Pros and Cons
  • "What I like about Nagios Core is that it helps me ensure everything is running smoothly by checking the status of hosts and services."
  • "Nagios Core is limited in terms of distributed setups, and there is no central view for remote data centers."

What is our primary use case?

I use Nagios Core for basic monitoring of my systems and services.

What is most valuable?

What I like about Nagios Core is that it helps me ensure everything is running smoothly by checking the status of hosts and services.

What needs improvement?

I have found Nagios Core to be challenging in terms of its centralized architecture and configuration complexities, especially in a Microsoft environment. Making optimizations or changes often requires reinstalling the server, which can be inconvenient.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Nagios Core for over a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a very stable product. I would rate the stability as a seven out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Nagios Core is limited in terms of distributed setups, and there is no central view for remote data centers. However, it is scalable in sizing, allowing for easy updates and upgrades without much complication. Just need to adjust settings in the software during the process. I would rate the scalability as a six out of ten.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have worked with Centreon in my organization as well.

How was the initial setup?

The installation of Nagios Core was relatively straightforward with no major complexities. My team managed to install it within a day. Maintaining it is straightforward for us. We don't do frequent updates; it is a one-time install. The only ongoing task is occasional security adjustments, mainly related to access control. 

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend Nagios Core for CentOS organizations, especially for simpler evaluations or smaller projects where a significant investment isn't required. It is suitable for those without extensive monitoring needs. Overall, I would rate the solution as a six out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Chetan_Sharma - PeerSpot reviewer
Linux System Administrator at Amity Software Systems Limited
Reseller
Jul 11, 2023
A stable and easy-to-set up open-source monitoring tool
Pros and Cons
  • "We mostly use Nagios Core to integrate with Python and Bash Script."
  • "Nagios Core does not have a graphic display."

What is most valuable?

We mostly use Nagios Core to integrate with Python and Bash Script. If there is a requirement from the client to monitor these services, and Nagios Core does not have the features, we integrate Python and Bash Script with Nagios Core to monitor the services.

What needs improvement?

Nagios Core does not have a graphic display.

For how long have I used the solution?

My company has worked with Nagios Core for the last six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate Nagios Core ten out of ten for stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I rate Nagios Core ten out of ten for scalability.

How was the initial setup?

Nagios Core's initial setup was not difficult for me.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Nagios Core is a cheap solution.

What other advice do I have?

Nagios Core is a world-famous open-source monitoring tool. It is easy for us to showcase a Nagios Core demo to the client.

Overall, I rate Nagios Core ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Fahad-Siddiqui - PeerSpot reviewer
Big Data Infrastructure Consultant at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Oct 12, 2022
Flexible, sustainable, and a great tool on the market
Pros and Cons
  • "Nagios Core is very configurable. Whatever you want, you can do it."
  • "Nagios Core is a great tool for monitoring the infrastructure including MSM queues, and when we use the agent, we can add other things as well."
  • "I believe Nagios Core will need to provide an option for big data platforms in the future."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is for Infrastructure monitoring.

How has it helped my organization?

Nagios Core is a great tool for monitoring the infrastructure including MSM queues, and when we use the agent, we can add other things as well.

What is most valuable?

Nagios Core is very configurable. Whatever you want, you can do it. We have multiple agents and scripts available with the Nagios Core portals and the internet. The cost is also very acceptable.

What needs improvement?

Datadog provides the compatibility to integrate with these big data platforms like Cloudera and others. These services are very efficient and they provide customer support with it. In this case, I believe Nagios Core will need to provide an option for big data platforms in the future.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Nagios Core for the past five or six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Nagios Core is highly stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Nagios Core is scalable for our purposes.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation was completed in-house because previously it was an open source tool. We can configure it to our own needs, based on our own requirements. The only task we had to complete is creating the script and using the tool. We had alerts created for our mobile phones, email and dashboard.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

When we look at pricing version eleven requires purchasing a license. With version seven no license was required since it was open source. When you upgraded to the licensed version only then did you pay for a license

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Nagios Core a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1330533 - PeerSpot reviewer
Partner Technical Support & Escalation Manager at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
Real User
Feb 26, 2022
We are using the free version, and we can monitor pretty much everything we want to
Pros and Cons
  • "It is fairly easy to set up, and we can monitor pretty much everything we want to."
  • "We're using the free version, which limits us in terms of the things that we can do. If we had the paid version, a lot of our issues would probably go away. For example, we can't isolate instances that are being built or updated with the production ones. When they're being built, on Nagios, they're showing in red. It'd be nice to be able to partition those off until they're all green, and then we can bring them into the environment. This is probably because we've got the free version and not the paid version. If we went for the paid version, it would probably allow us to do exactly what we want to or remove the restrictions that we have, but if we are able to isolate instances in the free version, it would make life much easier."
  • "We're using the free version, which limits us in terms of the things that we can do."

What is our primary use case?

It is used for monitoring services on a bunch of virtual machines.

In terms of the version, we're fairly up to date. We are perhaps not the most up-to-date, but we're fairly current.

How has it helped my organization?

It provides visibility of the platforms.

What is most valuable?

It is fairly easy to set up, and we can monitor pretty much everything we want to.

What needs improvement?

We're using the free version, which limits us in terms of the things that we can do. If we had the paid version, a lot of our issues would probably go away. For example, we can't isolate instances that are being built or updated with the production ones. When they're being built, on Nagios, they're showing in red. It'd be nice to be able to partition those off until they're all green, and then we can bring them into the environment. This is probably because we've got the free version and not the paid version. If we went for the paid version, it would probably allow us to do exactly what we want to or remove the restrictions that we have, but if we are able to isolate instances in the free version, it would make life much easier.

In terms of new features, we're just using it for what it is. We are using what we've got now. We don't have any additional requirements as far as I'm aware.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for four or five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is fine. There are no concerns there. Our biggest challenge is that we get a lot of timeouts, but that seems to be because of our network setup. There are a whole bunch of spurious events being reported, but they're more timeouts in getting to the Nagios agents.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It seems to be all right at the moment. We don't seem to be having any problems with that. We have upwards of 20 users, and it is being used on a daily basis.

How are customer service and support?

I have not contacted them for a long time.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Nagios is the first one.

How was the initial setup?

From what I heard, it didn't seem difficult to set up. It was quite straightforward.

We're still rolling out and deploying new instances of VMs that we want to monitor. It's an ongoing process.

What about the implementation team?

We deployed it ourselves. Its maintenance is done by one or two people.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We are using the free version.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend it to others. It does what it is supposed to. It is pretty good. 

I would rate it an eight out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Senior Software Engineer at Peristent Systems
Real User
Jan 20, 2022
A good solution with alerting features
Pros and Cons
  • "Dashboard provides monitor of total assets."
  • "The features of Nagios Core that we find most valuable are the plugins we use, we can check the uptime and see how many servers and routers and create groups accordingly."
  • "Nagios Core would benefit from aggregations if a particular server goes down."

What is our primary use case?

We use Nagios for one of our customers to monitor all the servers, firewalls, routers, and cameras. While monitoring the server we get alerts, this enables us to raise a ticket and notify end users that we are aware of the issue before they need to notify us.

We have 80 people using the dashboard and getting the alerts. Depending on the number of servers, routers, and firewalls we are monitoring in current clusters. When one cluster goes down, it will automatically take data from another cluster. 

We support 24/7 because our client is a financial company, if the critical servers go down, they would face financial issues. 

What is most valuable?

The features of Nagios Core that we find most valuable are the plugins we use, we can check the uptime and see how many servers and routers and create groups accordingly. From these groups, we can check how many servers and routers go down. 

We also like the alerting features. One of the dashboards they provide monitor total assets and how many are up and how many are down.

What needs improvement?

If we need to process quicker, we use third party plugins to avoid downtime.

Nagios Core would benefit from aggregations if a particular server goes down. 

Comparing Nagios UI and Nagios Core, in Nagios Core we need to do some coding while Nagios XI has everything in UI. If you go with Nagios XI the developer task is minimized because they help provide the UI. With Nagios Core, we need to log into the Linux servers and we need to change that particular directory. We need to write a code for each and every server.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Nagios Core for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We deploy Nagios on a cloud, so there are features like plugins. The help desk tickets plugins so we can monitor the lock files as well from main server and create dashboards.

The security-related features also are there to monitor antivirus and install or not on each and every server. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were working with ELK. Due to costing we switched to Nagios Core because it is free for the alerting feature. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Nagios Core is straightforward. We installed as per the steps mentioned in Nagios' documentation. It can be deployed in a day.

What about the implementation team?

I completed the installation myself.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Most of the features in Nagios Core are free. Most plugins are free. 

What other advice do I have?

When considering Nagios Core you should consider how many servers, firewalls and routers you need to monitor. Then determine which services need to be monitored by Nagios Core and how many service alerts are needed so you can create clusters and keep your gig size and RAM size accordingly.

I would rate Nagios Core a 7 out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Massimo Rubboli - PeerSpot reviewer
Information systems manager at Golfera
Real User
Jan 19, 2022
It's a stable solution for infrastructure monitoring, but it's complex to set up and use
Pros and Cons
  • "Nagios Core is stable."
  • "The dashboard and monitoring features could be improved."
  • "Nagios Core is not easy to use, so I don't recommend it for everyone."

What is our primary use case?

I'm primarily using Nagios Core to monitor infrastructure like servers, virtual machines, and telephone usage like IP-DECT antennas. I don't use all of Nagios Core's data functionality. I only use the monitoring features.

What needs improvement?

The dashboard and monitoring features could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using Nagios Core for about five years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Nagios Core is stable.

How was the initial setup?

The Nagios Core setup is complex, but I can handle it all myself. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate Nagios Core seven out of 10. Nagios Core is not easy to use, so I don't recommend it for everyone.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Support on banking at Aithent
Real User
Top 10
Jun 22, 2023
Helps to monitor server applications
Pros and Cons
  • "We use the product to monitor server applications."
  • "The tool needs to improve the integrations."

What is our primary use case?

We use the product to monitor server applications. 

What is most valuable?

I am impressed with the product's alerts and reports. 

What needs improvement?

The tool needs to improve the integrations. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The tool is stable. I would rate its stability a six out of ten. 

How was the initial setup?

The tool's setup is straightforward. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate the product a six out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Nagios Core Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: June 2026
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Nagios Core Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.